


A Song's Origin

by Jusbene



Series: Forever Together: Sylvix [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: 4 years post marriage, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Fluff and Angst, Gay Rights, M/M, MORE WINE!!!, Sylvain is doing his best to be a good husband, hugs and kisses, i can't write anything in order so, idk maybe i should make them a series?, it's only one element that is repeated here, still dealing with ignorant assholes, sylvix - Freeform, this is again related to my first 2 fics, unconventional wedding bands, very sad with a happy ending, why are all my tags out of order???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21643840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jusbene/pseuds/Jusbene
Summary: “The Margrave...was expecting you,” Felix blurted out robotically. He wasn’t sure why he was talking back at this point. He didn’t think at first that it was his own voice coming out. Within his mind had become a blur of emotions that he couldn’t distinguish. His whole body felt numb and cold. His eyes were locked on the scabbard still sitting on his desk, locked on the engraved message from his loving husband as it faced him upside down. “He s--....he said he’d be returning soon with food.”“Well that’s unfortunate. I did like him a lot more than you."
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: Forever Together: Sylvix [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730548
Comments: 6
Kudos: 79
Collections: Sylvix Squad Super Stories





	A Song's Origin

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place 4 years after Sylvain and Felix get married. :) It's loosely tied to my other 2 fics around these boys. I'd love if you read the other 2 as well as there are elements from them that I've included here. I CAN'T WRITE CONVENTIONALLY IM SORRY! I come up with scenarios all over the place so I might make one later that takes place before this, lol! That's why I can't write a story with chapters! Anyway, I hope you enjoy. :3

Felix was so worried… 

So damn worried.

Their wedding 4 years prior was the last time he had felt so much nauseating unease. Were the people only there to see if the invitation was true word for word? Did they need to enter the Holy Cathedral of Garreg Mach to witness for themselves the first confirmed marriage between two high born men just to believe it? Felix was not able to glance at many of the spectators, only that one woman from his homeland (her face, priceless), and the faces of his friends from the academy, the face of the boar and of course his goddess and saviour that made it all possible—Byleth. She had taken the spot at the altar. He remembered how excited she had been to marry the two of them and how hard it was for her, surprisingly to hold her composure without sobbing tears of joy. Felix remembered how he had wanted to glance around the church and satisfy that pit in his stomach, that fear of being watched by hundreds of people, being judged for his choice, for his love, for his pursuit of happiness, but Sylvain had been staring at him too, and how could he resist not being sucked into his awe-filled gaze? The crimson-haired man had been staring heart-eyes the entire time Felix walked down the aisle, wearing what remained of those minerals his love had used for his engagement present, practically sprinkled across the collar and the hems of his wedding tuxedo. Annette just bounced with excitement at the prospect of making the outfit for Felix and he was glad he had agreed to it. If it would make Sylvain look at him like that, he would think of other ways in the near future for Annette to make that happen again and again.

After their wedding, Sylvain had transported all of his belongings from Gautier territory to Fraldarius lands like they had agreed and it wasn’t long before the people of his settlement were coming to terms with the new arrangement. People were quiet at first, which was to be expected. Most of the Fraldarius people were very religious, religious in the ways that Lady Rhea governed the church. It took people a bit of time to get used to Byleth’s new way of running things, her ways of being more open-minded, civil and kind, not governing peoples’ duties by their crests. Not condemning people for their unwillingness to follow the teachings of the church. There’d also be no executions until they understood everyone’s side of the story.

Even now, 4 years later, it still irked Felix when people didn’t understand. He was so tired of having to explain and describe and ask for empathy. It beat him down mentally and emotionally when the older lords of Fódlan came to see the two of them to exchange goods and supplies. Most of them were in their mid 40's and were very rooted in their beliefs that a crest must be passed down. Their judging eyes would dart back and forth between the two of them as if to say “were your families a joke to you?”

Most of the encounters took place right after they had wed, specifically within the first six months. As they were now Fraldarius-Gautier, that meant a lot of new business models and arrangements had to be changed since they were previously prepared for his father the former Duke Fraldarius and Sylvain's father, the former Margrave Gautier. Sadly, Felix hadn’t seen the last of these close-minded fools. There was one lord that just didn’t communicate with anyone for months to years at a time. Most would joke that he was probably dead and bet on it until they received word of his sudden activity. This was the man who was coming to visit the Fraldarius castle that evening.

Sylvain had left for Garreg Mach several days prior to gather some meat and vegetables that Felix liked in hopes that if he ate his favourite food during the occasion, it would nullify some of his anxiety. On the contrary, Felix was so upset to see him go. He wanted so badly for Sylvain to stay, just so he could see that heartwarming smile that when directed at him sent a tingly warm sensation from his ears down to his toes. Just his husband’s smile was enough to cure the deafening aching pain in his chest. Things were always much better with Sylvain by his side. He was a lot more outspoken and opinionated when the two were in awkward confrontations with noble lords. Felix was beginning to worry that Sylvain would not return in time to be ready to greet the old man with him upon his arrival. At this point the food didn’t matter to Felix. All he wanted was his Sylvain.

And his worst fears came true far too quickly. As he stood on their bedroom balcony overlooking the mountainscape—hoping that would ease his mind in the meantime—he spotted four horsemen and a banner riding along the path towards their castle gates. He recognized the banner almost as soon as the colours came into view. What followed could only be described as his heart and lungs feeling like they were being engulfed by his stomach. 

“Fuck-!”

The Duke threw his hands up and cradled his head as he leaned into the stone wall, letting out a miserable groan. He hadn’t prepared his thoughts and what he planned to say if this happened. This was going to be the first time Felix was forced to be confronted alone. It had been years since they had confronted anyone together!

Shifting his weight slightly to his other leg, Felix felt the embezzled scabbard that he held so dear swing and nudge him on the thigh. For a moment, he stared down at it and a small smile crossed his face. 

What other lucky man had a shiny sword forged with amethyst gifted to him as a wedding proposal? Felix knew no other person. It was the single greatest honour to wear that sword Sylvain had worked so hard to get for him. That was the truest form of love he had ever known. It was definitely tied with how good he was to him in the bedroom. But that story would be for another time.

Already, he felt a little better. Even if Sylvain wasn’t here at this very moment, the symbol of his love and support was always there, literally on his hip. If this guest had some issue making a deal with the new Fraldarius-Gautier family, he’d have to say it to his sword!

Felix took a deep breath and puffed out his chest, for a moment, appearing as beefy and muscular as his lover, then let out his breath slow and steady, resting his fists at his sides. He was ready for the confrontation.

The Duke walked slowly down the palace hallway, his navy hair swaying side to side, and took step by step down the spiral staircase with pride and purpose. With his hair having grown quite long over the years, it reached down past his shoulders even when pulled back high behind his head in a fancy bow. He believed he was as well dressed as he could be, his cape and turtleneck matching in a deep pine green like the ribbon in his hair. A small amethyst brooch securing his cape against his chest, matching that other accessory he carried with him everywhere he went. As Felix neared the bottom of the stairs, a man in his service approached him from the ground floor.

“My Lord, General Willard has arrived. We have just taken his and his men's horses to the stables. An escort is bringing him to you now at your foyer.”

“Thank you, Yory,” The navy-haired man replied with a meaningful smile. “I will head there right now.”

He proceeded down the hall of the first floor to a pair of rich mahogany doors and took them both by each hand, swinging them open with a little more force than needed. As he entered the foyer of the great Fraldarius manor, he scanned the room from left to right, registering the familiar faces and then at last, that slightly familiar one, the one he had last seen when he was too shy to step out from behind his old man’s cape.

“Ah! There you are, Lord Fraldarius!” roared the general. He was a big burly man, with a raspy voice that had clearly spent many years at that volume. He was dressed in large furs and layers of leather, with many greys and greens, only suggesting his people hunted crocodiles. This was one thing Felix did not remember from his childhood, and he already disliked him for this but his face remained to say otherwise for now.

“Hello, general. I do hope you had a safe trip,” the Duke greeted emptily, reaching out to shake his hand. General Willard took hold of his small, toned arm and made a firm handshake with his. Sylvain would have to lift some heavier crates for a few months to have arms as large as these. Felix suddenly became uneasy.

“Safe as any other, my good lad!” the older man shouted back, making his ear ring right next to him. “And my have you grown into a noble Lord! You’re the spitting image of Rodrigue!”

_Goddess, he hated when people said that…_

“Yes yes, it has been a very long time,” Felix chuckled, blowing past the subject of his late old man. “Shall I give you a tour before we go to my office? There have been plenty of renovations since you were here last, I’m sure.”

“That won’t be necessary, I’m actually quite tired from the trip. I’d like to take a seat in your office, my good sir.” Willard grumbled, before he fell into a fit of deathly coughs that had him crouching over, leaning into his arm.

“Are you alright, sir?” Felix asked, actually concerned.

“Ah, just a very dry throat from the trip, my Lord, not a lot to drink I’m afraid,” the General croaked back sounding like his lungs would actually fall out if he spoke any further.

Felix motioned to one of his serving girls. “Bertha, would you please bring a fresh glass of water for the General?”

“ ** _Not water, wine!_** ” the man bellowed, his face red from coughing.

Bertha was frozen in the hall, confused. It wasn’t like the Fraldarius people to serve wine in the early afternoon hours before supper. She looked to her liege for confirmation.

“Yes, dear, please, it’s alright.” he told her softly. Then he turned to Willard. “Let’s head to my office. She will bring the wine there.

“Your serving girls are pretty, I’ll bet your wife is a stunning work of art.”

Felix froze.

The guards and the rest of the staff currently in the foyer also froze. If they were in the middle of any sort of idle whisper, the room had become sickeningly silent.

The Duke would rather jump into Ailell’s lava depths than respond to such a comment in front of his people. He instead shrugged his shoulders and started to walk down to the end of the hall, back to the mahogany doors, in hopes that the ignorant fool would follow him quietly.

Thankfully he did, only after realizing Felix was not answering to his comment and had to engage in a brief jog to catch up to him just as he was opening the double doors.

“My Lord, where is she?” Willard pressed on, as they entered the new hallway, three doors away from Felix’s office. Felix wished he didn’t have an office. He wished he had a bottomless pit at the end of the hall that he could simply push this man into and be done with this mess.

“I offered you a tour, good sir, and you wouldn’t take it,” is all he responded with. The painted portraits on the wall would have been explanation enough to the General that the Duke and his _husband_ were no secret in the Fraldarius lands. He had to have been sleeping under a rock for five years to not know whose home he was entering! And he read the scroll that was sent a month prior… did he not?

“My Lord, I can sense you’re peeved about my comment, why?” Willard asked as they entered Felix’s office. Well, he was ignorant but he wasn’t socially stupid, that’s for sure.

“I am peeved, sir,” the navy haired man admitted softly, letting out a sigh as he pulled out his engraved oak chair and took a seat, motioning for the burly man to do the same in front of him.

“I apologize, if my words sounded like I was objectifying. I meant nothing of the sort. There is more to woman than simply her beauty of course.”

“Sir, did you not read the scroll that was sent to you in full? Your invitation to my lands?” Felix asked, doing his best not to sound as agitated as he was in the moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose before finally closing with, “I don’t _have_ a wife.”

“You… I’m sorry, I beg your pardon?” Willard leaned forward in his chair in utter confusion.

“Did you read the invitation in full?” Felix repeated. This wasn’t the part he had said that the general wanted to hear again, however.

“My squire read it to me while I was walking through my gardens!” the older man spat angrily. “He read to me that you were rightfully Duke Fraldarius, which would have to mean that you have wed!”

“And I _have_ ,” Felix responded, gritting his teeth with frustration. “Have you… _Goddess_ … forgive my bluntness, sir, but have you even been paying attention to the politics of Fódlan in the last half a decade?”

“Politics I make a point of paying attention to, yes,” Willard huffed, crossing his arms. His eyes scanned the Duke’s clenched fists on his table. “I pay attention to many things, my Lord, and one thing I notice very clearly is that you are missing a wedding band.”

“I am not,” Felix spat back, his voice growing more bitter by the second. He reached down to his hip and unbuckled his precious scabbard from his belt, the sword still in it, placing it on the table in front of the man. 

General Willard made an audible sound of intrigue and his eyes went from the hilt of the sword to the ornate pattern all the way down the scabbard. A silver emblem decorated the middle of the design, and on that silver plate was engraved an overlap of the Gautier and Fraldarius crests and below it in elegant cursive, “ _For Duke Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Forever until death, with love and devotion, Margrave Sylvain Jose Gautier._ ”

It was the General’s turn to be silent. His eyes grew wide with realization and bewilderment. He swallowed loudly, loud enough for Felix to hear and did not make eye contact with the Duke for quite some time. Felix took a deep breath and let it out slowly, waiting for something that would end this.

“So… so you have married Margrave Gautier…” the big man concluded, darting his gaze up at Felix without moving his head. “A perplexing thing…”

“Not perplexing… if you have been paying attention to politics,” Felix replied, all kindness gone from his voice at last. “You would have known that the Archbishop and the King of Fearghus had signed a law and and it would have been very clear to you exactly why they did.”

“It seems I did not care,” General Willard huffed, averting his eyes to the floor and sitting back down in his chair—but the next thing to leave his lips would suggest he wouldn't be seated much longer. “And why should I? You are no Duke of Fraldarius. You're just a failure of a man who can't be bothered extending his bloodline or his crest.”

Felix’s breath was caught in his throat. Years of practicing professionalism and good etiquette in times of business were draining from his mind. He had no idea how to react. He just stared wide-eyed at the man.

As his ears rang with anger and dejection, he saw Sylvain in his mind’s eye. He saw his smile. He saw his laugh, his perfect, adorable laugh. He saw the way those honey eyes narrowed with meaning when his own face reflected back. He heard his beautiful voice say his name. He had never felt so alone until this very moment. What was wrong with having him as his life partner? Why was this such a problem for people to comprehend? Why couldn’t everyone just nod and move on with their own feeble lives? Felix never judged anyone for what they wanted, who they loved, their goals in life. Why couldn’t Sylvain just be here right now? Why wasn’t he home? Felix needed him right this moment! It wasn’t fair! 

“I will not be signing any papers for you,” the general muttered bitterly and stood up to leave. "The Fraldarius-Gautier family will most certainly not be doing business with my grandchildren anyway. You'll both be long gone, buried deep underground and forgotten, you and your priceless crests." He hadn’t made eye contact with Felix since he was commenting on his marriage. “I will take my leave now.”

“The Margrave...was expecting you,” Felix blurted out robotically. He wasn’t sure why he was talking back at this point. He didn’t think at first that it was his own voice coming out. Within his mind had become a blur of emotions that he couldn’t distinguish. His whole body felt numb and cold. His eyes were locked on the scabbard still sitting on his desk, locked on the engraved message from his loving husband as it faced him upside down. “He s--....he said he’d be returning soon with food.”

“Well that’s unfortunate. I did like him a lot more than you,” Willard grumbled and turned around, just as Bertha had entered into the room with an uncorked bottle of their finest red wine with a fancy glass. He stopped in front of her just before they collided. “No thank you, miss. I’ve lost my appetite.”

Bertha stood dumbfounded, shifting her gaze from the man walking swiftly out of the room back to the Duke as he stood with clenched fists, still staring down at the scabbard as if she wasn’t there. She took a couple steps forward, hoping to make herself known without words.

“Please give me the room , Bertha,” Felix mumbled. 

Sensing the mood immediately, Bertha bowed and quickly left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

The scabbard started to blur in Felix’s vision as his ears continued to ring. In a few moments, he couldn’t see anything in front of him and he felt water tickling his cheek. It took him a few moments to realize it was a tear before another ran down from his other cheek. Not knowing what else to do, he caved and started to sob pathetically, his fists shaking against the finished wood. Felix finally sat down in his chair and rested his head on his arms, muffling his cries into the sleeves of his long cloak. For a few minutes he just sat there and cried like he used to as a boy. Somehow, it had become easier for him to cry as a married man, ever since Sylvain had urged him to let his feelings out instead of bottling them up inside. He could never cry in public but he could always cry if Sylvain was the only one to see him do it. His husband had always held him and comforted him when they were young and that tradition had carried into their marriage. But right now, Sylvain wasn’t here. Felix couldn’t decide if it was making his cries worse that his husband wasn’t with him or if he preferred not embarrassing himself this time.

There were only two things the navy haired man knew at that moment. First, there would be no trading business between the General and their house. Second, the delicious food Sylvain was bringing back would only need to be shared between them, as their company would not be staying for the meal. While General Willard may have liked the Margrave more than the Duke, he sure couldn’t like him any more now that he knew the two men were married.

Felix lost track of time as he sat resting his head in his arms. The tears were beginning to dry on his sleeves while great tension ached behind his eyes. This area of the castle had become suspiciously quiet. If Willard had truly left the castle after leaving his office, he would have been long gone. The kitchen staff would likely be coming to him and asking how much food they were expected to prepare due to the sudden departure of their guest. Felix estimated he had sat here for close to twenty minutes but was he wrong? Did he really lose himself in his fit of tears? He hoped it hadn’t been that long. If anyone walked into his office, he wasn’t sure how bad his face looked.

Then something caught Felix's attention. He finally started to hear voices in the distance, muffled through layers of doors, echoing along the stone walls. As the voices grew louder, he was able to distinguish one as being Bertha’s and the other as belonging to none other than his precious Sylvain. Felix felt his heart flutter in his chest as he began to make out footsteps of his husband’s steel-toed boots against the tile floors, his pace seeming brisk and urgent, growing louder and louder. The Duke quickly sat up and shifted his arms into his lap, then nervously raised one hand again to rub around his eyes—as if that would change how he looked at all. Felix barely had time to take a deep breath before he heard a soft knock on his office door.

“Babe? Are you in there?”

He was hesitant to respond, his breath catching in his throat again. He had hoped Sylvain would have opened with a different question: “ _Babe, are you **okay** in there?_” to which he would have answered “ _no_ ”. That’s two questions answered at once. But Sylvain was a simpleminded man in conversation. It was always one at a time with him.

“Babe?” the Margrave asked again.

“I….” Felix blurted out with no direction. He just wanted to make himself known before his husband walked away.

There was a long pause at the other side of the door. Felix was afraid Sylvain may not have heard him, but he was mistaken just as he started to worry. The two had been together so long, Sylvain had picked up the sign from just that one syllable that something was wrong.

“Is it okay if I come in?”

His voice was so soft and warm. All of a sudden, Felix felt his chest and his throat get tight, almost like he might just start sobbing again.

“Yes,” he mumbled back, as if he was 7 years old again, hiding behind his father’s cape.

The door opened very slowly and the most beautiful man Felix had ever seen and will ever see for the rest of his life peered at him with a concerned look on his face. His soft wavy locks of red hair hung wild and in disarray—reflecting how soon he had dismounted his horse. No matter how his husband's hair looked, it was always perfect in Felix's eyes. He wasn’t sure how he himself must have looked when they gazed at each other from opposite sides of the room, but his only guess was that it was bad. Sylvain’s eyes grew wide with worry and his brows furrowed before he opened the door enough for him to walk inside and close it quietly behind him.

“Aww, baby, what happened?”

_Damn him for always saying the perfect words to make him crumble._

Felix shakily stood up from his chair, as the tightness in his throat and the sound of Sylvain’s caring voice became too much for him to bear. The redhead hardly made across the room before he met him halfway in a tight embrace, already crying even harder than he had earlier, pressing his face into his husband’s chest.

“Syl…..Syl…..” Felix tried through choking sobs. “I...needed you.”

He felt Sylvain’s breath brush his hair and tickle his ear as he let out a deep sigh. At this moment the sensation was comforting in ways he could never have imagined.

“I’m so sorry, Fe,” his smooth voice whispered back. “I’m so so sorry…” Felix felt his rough gloves brush the top of his head, slow and steady, while his other hand cradled the small of his back. Sylvain began to rock him back and forth, whispering soothing phrases to calm his cries.

“I-it...was awful...j-just awful…” Felix could barely get out through ragged breaths. “He was...an ignorant fool! I c--..couldn’t do it alone…”

“I’m here now, I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” Sylvain said softly into his ear, the baritone sending goosebumps along his arms and behind his neck. 

_Goddess_ , he loved the sound of Sylvain’s voice. Felix hummed softly in response and nuzzled his face into the fur on his collar, making Sylvain chuckle through his nose.

“I missed you too, baby. Don’t worry about that piece o’ shit, okay? I met him on the road when we rode back. I sent him my regards...if you know what I mean.” 

Felix could hear the smile that formed in the last bit of his sentence and he looked up at his husband, confused. Sylvain’s gaze at that moment was so powerful, it nearly sent him to the stars. The redhead shifted his hands to take off one of his gloves before brushing two fingers along the corner of Felix’s eye and wiping a tear off his cheek. The gesture was enough to make him pass out but he was somehow still conscious enough to hear Sylvain answer:

“When he told me he wouldn’t do business with a couple of failed lords, I threw a pie at him.”

Felix stared at his husband, surprised.

“You had a pie handy? Wouldn’t it have been stowed away with the rest of the food?”

“I could hear the gates being opened for him to leave so I knew it didn’t go well. I told one of the guys to take one out for me.”

“So…”

“Guess where it landed!” Sylvain snorted, barely able to contain himself. 

“I don’t know, his horse’s ass?”

“Right in his big, fat, drunk, red face!” Sylvain cackled, wrapping both hands around Felix’s back, giving him a loving squeeze.

Felix’s eyes twinkled with delight and his smile reached past his eyes as he gasped.

“Syl... _vain_! What will they say about us?”

“I can only hope that everyone else in Fódlan will get a kick out of this!” Sylvain laughed. “They’ll sing songs of the one General that couldn’t strike a deal with the Fraldarius-Gautier family!” 

Still holding Felix’s back, he brushed his nose lovingly against his forehead, waving aside his loose strands of navy hair, before he left a long kiss on the space between his brows.

“I’ll let Annette write that one,” Felix murmured, half joking, but it got a laugh out of Sylvain still. He stood on his toes so he could reach his husband in the first kiss they’ve shared in days. It was time for supper, together.

**Author's Note:**

> Another short fic that just kinda came to me yesterday and was a good way for clearing my head. I hope you like <3 Please consider following me on twitter @jusbene since I draw more Sylvix than I write. :) Thanks for reading!!!


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